Living close to a school doesn't guarantee pupils a place there, says MEC

Education MEC Debbie Schafer File photo: African News Agency (ANA)

Education MEC Debbie Schafer File photo: African News Agency (ANA)

Published Jan 23, 2019

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Cape Town – Whether you live 50m or 50km from a school, your proximity does not guarantee pupil placement, says the provincial education department as placement woes continue for some. 

The fact that you may have one or multiple siblings attending the school does not necessarily make for a strong acceptance argument either, said Education MEC Debbie Schäfer’s spokesperson, Jessica Shelver, as 
school governing bodies were responsible for the admissions policy and 
could determine certain criteria which could benefit some pupil admissions over others.

A Thornton pupil who was expected to start Grade 8 this year is still sitting at home after being rejected from Pinelands High on two occasions, according to her mother, Tania Lucas.

The pupil attended Pinelands North Primary last year, and her brother is in matric at the school, which is 3.6km from their house. 

Lucas said her eldest son had matriculated from Pinelands High 
in 2015. She said she had applied in March last year for her daughter to attend Pinelands High and in June she 
was informed that the application 
was unsuccessful. 

On appeal, their application was again rejected and their daughter has not yet found another school 
to attend. 

“I work in the area and all my children have been to Pinelands schools. 

“My daughter is still at home. Our application at Fairbairn College was also unsuccessful,” Lucas said. In a letter, Lucas’s husband Garth said they had exhausted all avenues and felt the process was discriminatory. 

“My dispute has been and still is that the admission policy and process were not administered fairly and that the entire process was discriminatory and unfair towards my daughter. 

“I believe that this is so based on a fractured past relationship that I have had with the school,” Garth said. 

Shelver said Pinelands High School had received 760 applications. 

“The stated capacity for Pinelands High School as per their admissions policy is 188 per grade. However, due to the number of applications, the school already extended this to 195 learners. There were 26 learners on the waiting list and the learner was number 12 on that list,” Shelver said. 

Shelver said some schools received five times the number of applications than the places they had available. 

“The proximity to a school does not always guarantee placement. 

“Living 50m from a school or 50km cannot guarantee placement. Some schools factor proximity in their admissions policies, but it is rarely the sole criterion, if it is a criterion at all,” Shelver said. 

Parents who have not found a place for children this year should contact their district office.

Each office has established a Learner Placement Task Team to assist with placements, Shelver said.

“There is a list on the WCED website of officials in charge of admissions at each district: https://wcedonline.westerncape.gov.za/documents/enrolment/index.html.

“Parents may also contact the Western Cape Education Department call centre on 0861 923 322, if they are unsure of which district to approach.”

Cape Times

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